Apple Seeds watchOS 5 Beta 3 to Developers [Download]

Apple has seeded watchOS 5 beta 3 to developers for testing. The build number is 16R5313d. watchOS 5 brings a new Walkie-Talkie feature, activity competitions, auto-workout detection, Podcasts, and more.

Apple Watch becomes an even stronger companion for fitness, communication and quick access to information with a host of new features including Activity Sharing competitions, auto-workout detection, advanced running features, Walkie-Talkie, Apple Podcasts and third-party apps on the Siri watch face.

New in watchOS 5With interactive notifications, access to the Siri watch face, a new background mode, audio controls, and more, your apps can deliver even better user experiences. More information on what’s new in watchOS 5 is available at www.apple.com/watchos-preview/.

● Interactive NotificationsMake your app notifications more interactive with customized controls that let users take relevant actions directly within the notification. For example, users can tip and rate a driver from within a ride-sharing app notification, or update time and party size for a restaurant reservation, all right from within the notification.

● Access to the Siri Watch FaceShow users timely content and Shortcuts from your apps at a glance. The Siri watch face uses machine learning and relevance algorithms to take inputs, past behavior, and routines associated with your app’s users to suggest common actions at relevant times. Users can simply raise their wrist and tap the Siri watch face to take action – or, using customized commands, use their voice.

● New Background ModeAudio apps can now run in the background. Users can play locally-synced playlists or podcasts while on the go, download playlists and episodes to Apple Watch, transfer files from iPhone to Apple Watch, control playback using Apple Watch, and choose which Bluetooth audio device to play to.

● Parkinson’s Disease ResearchA new API gives researchers access to custom algorithms based on accelerometer and gyroscope data that can be used to create tools to help doctors better understand patients’ tremor and dyskinesia symptoms in response to treatment for Parkinson’s Disease. This API requires an entitlement. See documentation for more details.

Developers can download the Apple Watch beta configuration profile from the link below.